The cabinet wants to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management has requested the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) to collaborate with CE consortium partners to develop a Knowledge Program for the period 2025 – 2030. This program aims to 1) provide insights into the progress of the transition towards a circular economy and 2) offer insights into possible actions and policy advice to stimulate the transition. This new knowledge program builds on the Work Program Monitoring and Steering Circular Economy 2019-2024.
The Knowledge Program has the following operational goals:
- Provide insight into the current state of the transition to a circular economy, regarding (a) resource use/resource efficiency and loss (waste); (b) the effects of that resource use from extraction and production to waste processing, including reuse; (c) supply risks and (d) the transition process;
- Provide insight into the expected development of the transition to a circular economy under current and proposed policies, considering societal trends/external factors;
- Provide insight into the expected goal achievement and the expected tasks to realize CE goals;
- Provide insight into action options and possible policy interventions to achieve CE goals and stimulate the circular transition, including the various effects of those options/interventions, the pros and cons, and conditions, as well as success and failure factors for realizing the options.
To achieve these goals, knowledge development is grouped along four lines: (1) strategic policy analysis, (2) product group analyses, (3) quantitative scenarios and models, and (4) monitoring.
The program is executed through projects. In mutual consultation among consortium partners, an annual selection of projects is made. PBL assimilates this into an annual research program. This years projects are included in this programming.